Shear transfer tie



Dec. 7, 1965 J. N. LUCAS 3,221,458

SHEAR TRANSFER TIE Filed June 11, 1962 INVENTOR. 705 (9 06 /V. Lucas n A TTORNEY United States Patent 3,221,458 SHEAR TRANSFER TIE Joseph N. Lucas, Hammond, Ind, assignor to A A Wire Products (10., Chicago, 1th, a corporation of Illinois Filed June 11, W62, er. No. 201,603 4 Ciaims. (Cl. 52-438) This invention relates generally to masonry wall constructions and more particularly to a shear transfer tie for insuring lateral stability in a masonry wall while effecting a break in the mortar bond permitting the Wall to shrink and expand.

A masonry wall consists of bricks or building blocks built up in horizontal layers, called courses, to form Walls or other construction. In order to secure an even hearing for the bricks or blocks, to hold them in position, to make a tight wall, and to improve the appearance, mortar is used between the bricks or blocks to form joints. The bricks or building blocks are held together by arranging them so that they lap over each other and stagger or break the vertical joints.

The various arrangements which are used are called bonds and affect the appearance of the masonry. In conventional wall constructions, bricks which are laid flat with the end exposed are called headers, while bricks which are laid with the side exposed are called stretchers. The various bonds which are used consist of different arrangements of headers and stretchers. In running bond or stretcher bond all the bricks are stretchers. In American bond or common bond, there are from four to six stretcher courses between single header courses. In English bond there are alternate courses of headers and stretchers, with the joints in alternate courses lining up vertically. In Flemish bond, each course consists of alternate headers and stretchers with the headers centered with the stretchers of the course above and below.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the shear transfer ties of the present invention may be utilized in a course comparable to a header course, for example, in a single course between four to six ordinary stretcher courses. Thus, the wall construction may have the aesthetic appearance of an American bond or common bond arrangement, yet the spaced courses in which the shear transfer ties are incorporated will permit the wall to shrink and expand while being suitably braced by the shear transfer tie operable as a stiffener to preserve lateral stability.

The shear transfer tie of the present invention is also of particular utility in establishing lateral stability between an addition to an existing wall construction, for example, in remodeling or in any other installation wherein a new masonry wall is being constructed adjacent an existing architectural unit.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved means for permitting a masonry wall to shrink and expand while preserving lateral stability.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a shear transfer tie to be used as a stiffener for bracing masonry walls at control joints.

Many other structural advantages and features and additional objects will become manifest to the persons skilled in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

On the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view of a masonry wall showing one course of the wall incorporating the shear transfer ties of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line II-II of FIGURE 1; and

3,221,458 Patented Dec. 7, 1965 FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing an alternative form of the invention.

As shown on the drawings:

In FIGURE 1 there is shown an exemplary Wall construction 10 wherein a plurality of building blocks are arranged in running bond or stretcher bond in that all of the building blocks are stretchers. The details of each individual building block are shown in FIGURE 2 wherein each block is shown at 11 and constitutes a so-called building or cinder block made of cast concrete or any other similar material having a front surface 12 and a rear surface 13. The building block is provided with a center cavity 14 and two end cavities shown at 16 and 18, respectively, the cavities 14 and 16 being separated by a cross web is and the cavities 14 and 18 being separated by a cross web 20.

Each block 11 is further characterized by an end cross web 21 located opposite the cross web 19 and closing the cavity 16 and an end cross web 22 located opposite the cross web 20 and closing the cavity 18. Each respective cross web 21 and 22 is spaced inwardly from an adjoining end face 23 and 24, thereby to form an end recess identified at 26.

Thus, when two adjoining blocks 11, 11 in a common course are placed in end-to-end relation, the two recesses 26, 26 together form a single cavity.

In the view of FIGURE 2, a joint is formed between the end faces 23 and 24. It will be understood that the mortar used for joints in masonry work is usually lime mortar made up of lime and sand mixed with water. When an unusually strong and durable mortar is desired, cement mortar, made of Portland cement and sand, with a small amount of lime, is used. Such a joint is illustrated at 27.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the shear transfer tie is provided between each two adjoining blocks 11, 11 and extends across the joint 27.

First of all, the side of the block where the stiffener or shear transfer tie is installed is lined with a bond-breaking means. The bond-breaking means may conveniently comprise a sheet of building paper, for erample, a thirty pound felt building paper as indicated at 28. In FIGURE 2, a sheet of building paper 28 lines each reces 26. The cavity provided by the two recesses 26, 26 is filled with grout or mortar, for example, the same mortar as is used to form the joint 27.

A cap 29 is connected to each respective block 11 and in this regard, the Web 22 of one of the blocks may be notched as at 31), while the web 21 in the other of the blocks may be notched as at 31, thereby to accommodate the cap members 29, 29.

Each cap member 259 may conveniently comprise a sleeve-like or tube-like article made of metal. One end of the article is plugged by means of a plug shown at 32. The plug may constitute a plastic expansion filler or a cork or any other suitable plug-like device so long as it develops the function of closing the end of the sleeve and preventing the entry of the grout or mortar into the interior of the sleeve.

The opposite end of the sleeve forms a socket 33 in which is slidably and telescopically received the end of a dowel 34. The dowel 34 conveniently takes the form of a rod-form member, for example, a shaped metal rod approximately in diameter for a conventionally sized building block would adequately develop the functions contemplated by the present invention.

The cavities or recesses 18 and 16 and the respective blocks 11, 11 may also be filled with grout or mortar, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, thereby to securely embed the cap members 29, 29.

If the portion of the dowel 34 between the two bondbreaking linings 28, 28 bonds with the mortar grout, no problem results because the paper 28, 28 effectively breaks the bond and the felt between the spaced facings of the building paper provides sufficient thickness to accommodate shrinkage and expansion of the wall. Further, the slidable or telescopic relation between the cap members 29, 29 and the dowel 34 also efiect relative movement in an axial direction but the dowel cooperating telescopically with the cap members 29, 29 will, at the same time, preserve lateral stability.

If desired, the principles of the present invention can be exploited by the utilization of only a single cap 29 and a single dowel 34, as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus, only one side of the cavity provided by the recesses 26, 26 of adjoining blocks 11 is provided with a bond-breaking building paper 28 and the dowel 34 is directly embedded in the grout filling the recesses 26, 26 and the notch 30 in the web 22.

In this form of the invention, the web 21 of the other block is notched as at 31 as before, and the web 19 may be notched as at 36 to receive the plugged end of the cap member 29. The operation of the device, of course, will be quite comparable to that already described in connection with FIGURE 2 since relative movement may occur between the dowel 34 and the cap 29 and lateral stability across the joint will be preserved.

Although minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a masonry wall,

a pair of hollow blocks,

each having transverse cross webs and hollow recesses therein,

the end of each block having a recess forming a cavity at the joint between the blocks, said cavity having at least one side thereof lined with a bond breaker means, a shear transfer tie between said pair of blocks and extending across said joint,

said shear transfer tie comprising rigid telescopical 1y interfitted dowel and cap members,

said dowel member comprising a shaped metal rod and each said cap member comprising a tubular sleeve telescopically receiving a corresponding end of said rod, grout filling said cavity and said joint thereby to securely embed said cap members in corresponding blocks,

said dowel and cap members being relatively axially movable to accommodate expansion and contraction in the wall while providing lateral stability between the blocks across said joint. 2. In a masonry wall a defined in claim 1, said cross webs of said blocks being notched to receive said dowel and cap members and grout or mortar filling said cavity at the joint. 3. In a masonry wall as defined in claim 1, said bondbreaker means comprising a sheet of building paper.

4. In a masonry wall as defined in claim 1, each said cap member comprising an open ended tubular sleeve, and a plug closing one end of said sleeve, the other end of said sleeve forming a socket for slidably and telescopically receiving said dowel.

References titted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 605,468 6/1898 Bennett 52-438 637,906 11/ 1899 Venezia 52438 791,293 5/ 1905 Schietkiewicz 52438 800,875 10/1905 Palmer 52-437 1,434,378 11/ 1922 Evans 52604 2,149,291 3/1938 Hofwolt 9418 2,208,000 7/1940 Geyer 9418 2,500,262 3/1950 Parrott 94-8 2,772,560 12/1956 Neptune 52-707 2,858,748 11/1958 Crone 94-8 3,022,713 2/1962 Friberg 948 3,035,375 5/1962 Williams 52744 FOREIGN PATENTS 569,859 4/1924 France.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, HENRY C. SUTHERLAND,

Examiners. 

1. IN A MASONARY WALL, A PAIR OF HOLLOW BLOCKS, EACH HAVING TRANSVERSE CROSS WEBS AND HOLLOW RECESSES THEREIN, THE END OF EACH BLOCK HAVING A RECESS FORMING A CAVITY AT THE JOINT BETWEEN THE BLOCKS, SAID CAVITY HAVING AT LEAST ONE SIDE THEREOF LINED WITH A BOND BREAKER MEANS, A SHEAR TRANSFER TIE BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF BLOCKS AND EXTENDING ACROSS SAID JOINT, SAID SHEAR TRANSFER TIE COMPRISING RIGID TELESCOPICALLY INTERFITTED DOWEL AND CAP MEMBERS, SAID DOWEL MEMBER COMPRISING A SHAPED METAL ROD AND EACH SAID CAP MEMBER COMPRISING A TUBULAR SLEEVE TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVING A CORRESPONDING END OF SAID ROD, GROUT FILLING SAID CAVITY AND SAID JOINT THEREBY TO SECURELY EMBED SAID CAP MEMBERS IN CORRESPONDING BLOCKS SAID DOWEL AND CAP MEMBERS BEING RELATIVELY AXIALLY MOVABLE TO ACCOMMODATE EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION IN THE WALL WHILE PROVIDING LATERAL STABILITY BETWEEN THE BLOCKS ACROSS SAID JOINT. 